"Summertime! and the livin is easy"! Isn't that how the song goes? You know, the classic George Gershwin song, not the Kenny Chesney one (although I am kind of partial to a great country song). Hmmmm… I am not sure what summertime looked like in 1935 when Gershwin wrote the song, but I am pretty sure most moms today wouldn't describe the summer school break as "livin easy". In fact, for many, summertime now entails juggling sports camps, dance teams, family trips, swimming lessons and bored kids. Now we are the entertainment too! It can all be a bit like a three ring circus, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Honestly, I am so thrilled it is me that takes pictures of the first jump in the pool; it is me that gets to comfort the little league strike out; it is me that gets to demonstrate chalk-drawn hopscotch; and it is me that gets the snapshot of the popsicle drippy, sticky smiles on a hot summer afternoon. Not all that "easy", but definitely sweet. Maybe the Kenny Chesney version of Summertime is right after all. He ends with "Summetime, Sweet Summertime", and really, isn't that all we can hope for?

Quick Quotes
This month's quotes celebrate the magic contained in the months of June, July and August.

"Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability." — Sam Keen

"Summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language." — Henry James

"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a wast of time." — John Lubbock

"The summer night is like a perfection of thought." — Wallace Stevens

"Summer fun creates lasting memories." — Anonymous

"It's a beautiful day, don't let it get away. — Anonymous

Sensational ColorsThis month's color scheme is taken from the iScrapbook.com logo. What you say? How can that be done? Actually it is a technique commonly used by artists. Take any picture of nature, a logo you particularly like, or a magazine ad that caught your eye. Pull the two dominate colors and the two minor color and you've got yourself a color scheme!

Artists' Corner
This month we would like to highlight the work created by Josie Stewart of Digital Kits! As one of our original Artists, over the past couple years, she has become one of our most beloved also! From the person she is to the kits she creates, I think you will find Josie Stewart's art will be the perfect compliment to your layouts! See Josie's products

A few fun facts about Josie were revealed when we asked her these "Insight Questions". You may find a few you can relate to!

What was your childhood ambition? To be a paralegalWhat is your wildest dream? To write a bookWhat time is your alarm clock set to? I don't set my alarm clock! My kids get me up early enough!What is your idea of a perfect day? To lay on a beach all day long!Where do you get design inspiration? From my girlsWhat is your favorite indulgence? Chocolate and CokeWhat characteristic do you despise? Self pityWhat is your favorite item of clothing? I love jeans! I wear them practically every day.

Fantastic FreebieIt's time to update the iScrapbook.com Starter Kit and bring it into the modern era of digital scrapbooking! Just like fashion trends, what was fabulous two years ago is starting to look frumpy. We want no frumpiness here! So we are highlighting the new Starter Kit Freebie that's available to anyone who visits our site. However, we wanted you, our fabulous current customers, to get your hands on it first. So, enjoy!

Awe-Inspiring Layouts
Yes, I still have plenty of last summer's photos to scrap, don't you? While we are in a summer vibe, lets get them done! Here are a few ideas to warm you up!!

Tips & Tricks
Have you ever heard of a Bézier shape or curve? The name alone intimidates most people and its definition doesn't help. It's defined as a "parametric curve used to model smooth curves that can be scaled indefinitely" (thanks Wikipedia).

While the name and definition may sound intimidating, iScrapbook makes it easy to incorporate Bézier shapes into your designs. You'll be amazed at what you can do with them and they will become your new best friend. Plus, you'll now be able to say "Bézier" in casual conversation and sound like a genius.

Suppose you want to create a background for your scrapbook page that has a nice curvy frame made out of a favorite green paper like this:

This background design requires a Bézier shape to crop the green paper and turn it into a green frame. Here's how:

1) Drag the blue paper to the scrapbook page.

2) Drag the green paper to the scrapbook page. This paper will be used for the frame and needs to be resized slightly bigger than the actual page size. In the below screenshot you can see a black box that is the border of the page.

3) Select the Shapes tools. You'll see a bunch of shapes that you can drag to the scrapbook page. One of these shapes doesn't look quite like the other shapes. It's the Bézier shape and has all the small red circles on it.

4) Drag the Bézier shape to the scrapbook page and drop it just outside the top right-hand corner of the page. This is the starting point for the Bézier shape and you should see a small red circle with the white center where you dropped it:

5) Click just outside the bottom right-hand corner of the page. Click a second time just outside the bottom left-hand corner of the page. Click a third time an inch or so directly above the last click. You should now have a shape with three sides and four red cirlces:

6) So far, the sides of the shape are all straight. A straight side is created when you do a single click to add a new side. But now it's time to create a curved side so we'll do things a little differently. Move the mouse a few inches to the right and up an inch or so. This time, click and hold down the mouse button. As you hold down the mouse button, you'll be able to move the mouse and adjust the curve. Release the mouse button when you're done. It takes some practice to learn how the adjustment works, so feel free to play around with it. Plus, you can always go back and edit it later.

7) Move the mouse to about an inch from the bottom right-hand corner. Click and hold down the mouse button. As you hold down the mouse button, adjust the curve and then release the mouse button when you're done:

8) Move the mouse up several inches and to the left an inch or so. Click and hold down the mouse button. As you hold down the mouse button, adjust the curve and then release the mouse button when you're done:

9) Move the mouse about an inch to the left of the very first point you made. Click and hold down the mouse button. As you hold down the mouse button, adjust the curve and then release the mouse button when you're done. Finally, click on the first point you made. This will complete the shape and the entire shape will be selected:

10) Choose Color in the Smart Inspector and then change the color and thickness of the stroke:

11) Hold down the Shift key on the keyboard and select the green paper. The green paper and the Bézier shape will both be selected. Now click the Crop w/ Shape button in the toolbar and then click OK in the Smart Inspector. The Bézier shape will be used to crop the green paper:

12) Click the Trim to Page button in the toolbar to see just the content that prints on the final page. You can also choose Shadow in the Smart Inspector and add a nice drop shadow to the newly created Bézier frame.

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